Dumbfounded, your concepts are interesting, I think I thought the same about one of your other posts. And it's interesting in a way that makes me sit and contemplate >_<

I've actually been doing the pretending thing for several years now, but I usually do it when I'm with other people rather than when I'm alone (when I'm alone, all of that just comes rushing out!). I take the concepts that people have about me and that, thanks to therapy, I've come to see that I agree with too. They think I'm jolly? Ok, I'll give them jolly. They think I'm strong? Yup, I'll take care of things like a strong person would. And like you said, it works! It helps, not only with getting by but also with establishing your own identity. With all the crazy moods and, for some people, hallucinations and psychotic breaks... it can get really hard to have a grasp on who we really are. The only time the pretending bit me in the ***** later on was when I was really depressed but I still somehow managed to keep it to myself, even from close friends. I could cry in public, literally with people around me. I just put my head down for a minute, take a deep breath, then muster up a smile in the next minute... pretend that I had a quiet sneeze or cough.

Perhaps, the concept of pretending (to yourself) that it isn't real though like what dumbfounded has stated is helpful because, in a way, it's not really pretending. You ARE ok, we all are. It's just our minds and the chemicals and neurotransmitters being drunk up there that makes us believe we're not ok. So in a way, that's you pushing it back and going, "No! You shut up, I'm not depressed, I'm fine!"

I might be getting lost in my own words here so please let me know whenever I'm not making sense >_<